The Poplar

Dined there last night and it was excellent food. They were conscientious of allergies, great service, and it was a nice setting for a date night out with my wife. On par with some of our favorites in the Third Ward in Milwaukee and the couple favorites we have in Chicago. Well worth the drive and being a destination type dinner.

Had dinner here last night with a few friends from out of town and everyone was super impressed with the look of the place and how great the food was. We will be back soon for another visit.

The Fillet was to die for. It was cooked perfectly. The mashed potatoes that came with it were cold and didn’t have much flavor. The salad wasn’t much to write about — kind of boring.
The happy family dish-​I got a whopping 1 scallop, 2 shrimp, and 1 little piece of lobster which was tough. The flavor was good but a little on the sweeter side.

We were in town for the weekend and very hungry but could not find a quality restaurant without a wait. We just happened to arrive at The Poplar Inn at the right time they had a table for us almost immediately. We were a little under dressed but the greeter was kind as ever and didn’t mind even though I pointed this out and apologized as we had just pulled into town. The service was exceptional from the moment we walked in and through out our dinner. The food was also prepared perfectly, we said as we were eating it was a very memorable dinner and as the weekend comes to a close we could not top our dinner at The Poplar Inn

My husband and I went there a few months ago. We were seated upstairs fairly quickly. Very quaint restaurant. We ordered steaks and they were made just the way we wanted them. Everything was great. We will go back again.
Sharon Kind

Went there on a date night. Was supposed to be the best. Got in early to have a cocktail went upstairs to the bar sat down and had a couple drinks the wife and I. Then the table was ready in the back corner. no biggie but couldn’t fit between the wall and the other couple and then the waitress was a complete bag waited and waited to get an appetizer then to order soup or salad, they dont have baked french onion they have potato ham. Really! So does walmart. Anyway then we order dinner and i got the 40 $ steak that was blah and the wife gets salmon not even seared on one side Gross! 100 $ for two people not impressed. By the way when the waitress asks you if you want the rolls instead of getting them, that ticked me off. any how service sucked, food ok and drinks from the bar excellent. So i have to say ill never be back to the unpoplar inn.

Terrible customer service! I tried calling to make a reservation. I was told by a young hostess after being put on hold to call back Monday. (I called Saturday)

It feels like a Chicago, LA, Las Vegas style fine dinning expierence. Amazing!!! Hands down it should be packed every night.

Hey Michael, the fact you said we would honor in my case but didn’t is a load of jibborish. It didn’t matter if I had 1 person in my party quite frankly, going by what the people who I ASKED IN ADVANCE OVER THE PHONE told me. I already did what I had to, I was told one thing that it didn’t matter how many people were in my party at all, and you all did another, on my birthday no less.
What a asinine way to run a business, and then to make excuses for it and still blame the victim? No I will never be back and I have been giving your place bad publicity to locals and on my Ozaukee County foodie blog ever since.

Who knew there was such a nice little restaurant in downtown West Bend? The Poplar Inn did a really nice job in taking care of my group the other night with their small town hospitality, good food and cozy ambiance.
Located in a historic home dating back to 1858, the Poplar Inn has been a number of things over it’s lifetime, but for the past 7 years has been under this ownership and name. The house is really something with the giant rough hewn beams supporting the ceilings, the creaky staircase and overall the old school feel that you just don’t find in modern buildings today.
Parking was a snap (I got a spot right out front– gotta love small towns) and walked in the front door to be greeted by an affable hostess who told me my party had not yet arrived but that I could sit upstairs at the bar.
Upstairs, I found a nice sized bar manned by Tim, bartender extraordinaire, who dd a great job with my dirty martini and my dining companion’s Old fashioned. We sat and chatted awhile and learned a little bit about the history of the house and the restaurant.
Once seated– we reviewed the menu and the specials of the day. Warm, soft fresh bread and butter were brought to the table (what is it about Wisconsin bread? Always soooo good) and decisions were quickly made.
For my appetizer– I went with the tuna tartar which was served with wonton chips and was pretty good. Others at the table had the bacon wrapped scallops which were the crowd favorite.
For entrees– we all went with some version of a steak. We were given a small piece of paper that showed how many of eat cut they still had left. The filet were sold out for that night– but there was still plenty (5) of the 16oz NY strip so that was my choice. And like most places in WI, your dinner comes with your choice of soup, salad and side for a very reasonable price. .. .I think my steak was $ 28! Crazy, right?
The food was a little slow to come up but that was the only hiccup of the night. Our server was terrific and she made sure the wine and cocktails were flowing. And those steaks came up perfectly grilled with a choice of toppings from mushrooms, shrimp and onions.
Another crazy good thing? Our server asked us if we had a coupon, a Groupon or any other kind of deal. We didn’t but that didn’t stop her from giving us $ 5 off of each of our steaks which made it an even better deal.
Dinner and drinks for 4 ran only about $ 230. .…a really great deal for some really good food.
Next time I’m in West Bend you can bet I’ll be back. And I bet Tim will have my drink just waiting for me…cuz that’s just the kind of place this is. You aren’t a stranger for long!

Some of the best food in WI and had a relaxing atmosphere. Great place to take a date. No carry out.

Not great. Cippiano was like Hamburger Helper. service was very slow. Great bar and nice atmosphere.

Great dinner spot in downtown. Loved, loved the building this restaurant is in — reminded me of the colonial buildings seen in movies. Here for a business trip last week and had the onion rings, jaeger schnitzel, and some ravioli. Onion rings looked looked good and were pretty standard in taste. The Jeagar was decent, not the best — would have been better if the cut was a bit thinner. Ravioli was typical — didn’t stand out too much.
The bread was good — came hot. This typically was sign to come in terms of the rest of the meal — great hot bread followed by decent dishes… Recommend tourists and out of towners to come for the atmosphere and uniqueness of the building. Food is just okay for the price you pay.

I really was expecting a great experience for the reviews and word of mouth was good. However, my experience was nothing stellar. In fact it was average all the way around and disappointing. We sat downstairs (maybe patio outside and upstairs has a better ambiance) and I ordered a mojito (which was $ 10) and salmon. My husband ordered the rib eye steak. The salmon was ok… nothing to rave about. The drink was bad. It was overly sweet. A mojito should be crisp tasting and garnished with a sprig of mint. The taste was similar to a pre-​mixed margarita drink. Not authentic or fresh at all and for $ 10 it should be. My husband’s rib eye was also good but not great. We did like the bruschetta appetizer though. I will be back and give it another shot. But will dine upstairs or on patio.

Fantastic hidden jewel.
Here in the West Bend area on a business trip. Used Unilocal to find just the restaurant I was looking for. Environment is great. Food is even better. The service was fantastic. Definitely a solid 5 star establishment.

My favorite restaurant in West Bend! This place has a cozy, yet elegant atmosphere with 5 star quality food and equally amazing service!

This is hands down the best restaurant in town! «Or Washington county «for the matter. Always great in every aspect. definitely the go to with all special occasions.

Great place. With the nice small town feel and hospitality along with great steak and even the seafood here was good.

Lovely seating outside.
Excellent service from the entire staff.
Great menu — especially the small portions if you want to nibble at a few things rather than have an entrée.
I was only inside briefly, but I’ll definitely try to sit inside next time to get the feel of the building. It was too nice a night to not sit outside this time around.

This is, without a doubt, my favorite restaurant in West Bend. In fact, I’m rather surprised to find a restaurant and bar of this quality in West Bend (despite the fact that I, rather sarcastically, call in the culture hub of Washington County). This restaurant rivals those in much larger cities, such as Milwaukee, Minneapolis, or even, dare I say it, Chicago.
Many a lovely nights have been spent in the Poplar, sipping the martinis expertly mixed by the bartender/​owner (he even hand-​stuffs olives with blue cheese for my gin martinis, upon request… I think I’m in love with him), eating the perfectly grilled steaks, and tempting myself with the large assortment of heavenly desserts.
My sister and brother-​in-​law had their rehearsal dinner here and one of the waitresses made two cakes for dessert. Mind you, I am not a cake person — I much prefer brownies, pies, ice creams, etc, but these cakes, THESE CAKES, were the best that I ate and, quite possibly, better than anything I have yet to eat.
Do yourself a solid and get yourself to the Poplar. I consider myself the luckiest gal in the world knowing that it’s just a hop, skip and a jump down the road from my parent’s place. I have stumbled home from the Poplar more than once. And it was the best night of my life every time.